Topics tagged with 'Politics'
One debate that's now over
27 Apr 2018
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | Debate about whether New Zealand can decarbonise without going bankrupt should now be over.
We're getting more worried about climate change
26 Apr 2018
New Zealanders are more worried about climate change than they have been for six years.
PARKER POWER: The key is bringing it all together
3 Apr 2018
Environment minister David Parker says if you want to get his measure, look at the America’s Cup deal he’s just done.
Minister quiet on talks with big emitters
27 Mar 2018
Climate minister James Shaw is meeting with some of the country’s biggest industrial emitters – but isn’t saying what they’re discussing.
Ten years on, we're back where we began
19 Mar 2018
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | When it comes to action on climate change, we’re pretty much back to where we were 10 years ago, when Carbon News started publishing.
OPINION: Why natural gas won't do the job
19 Mar 2018
Climate and energy expert Professor RALPH SIMS explains why natural gas is not a “bridging” fuel between dirtier fossil fuels and low-carbon energy. Searching for it and using it, he says, will delay New Zealand reaching its Paris Agreement emissions reduction target.
Business leaders like the look of minister Shaw
16 Mar 2018
Climate minister James Shaw appears to be convincing business he knows what he’s doing.
Climate commission's job to advise, says Upton
7 Mar 2018
The climate commission should make recommendations on the Emissions Trading Scheme and the number of international credits used to meet New Zealand’s targets, but control should stay firmly in the hands of the Government, says new Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton.
Climate change passion rides a bike
2 Mar 2018
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | Yesterday, a young woman told an audience that included two Cabinet ministers that she was suffering from depression because of climate change.
NZ still sets the pace in world of trading schemes
1 Mar 2018
Fifteen per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions are now covered by trading schemes.
Z aims for A-plus in transition to new energy
28 Feb 2018
Mike Bennetts is determined his company, Z Energy, will not have a Kodak moment.
Climate change and storms our greatest threats
14 Feb 2018
Climate change and related impacts like intense storms are now the greatest threats the world faces.
Neoliberalism not way, says environment report
12 Feb 2018
Neoliberalism is failing to protect New Zealand’s environment, warns a new paper on the future of environmental law.
'We don't want green finance, but for finance to be green'
9 Feb 2018
Industry and regulators should be given until 2020 to boost climate risk disclosure or face government intervention, Britain’s Commons Environmental Audit Committee has been told.
'It’s good to hear a government finally talking sense'
2 Feb 2018
What kind of reception is climate minister James Shaw likely to be getting from the Iwi Leaders Group as they meet at Waitangi today?
Poll shows we're divided over carbon-neutral aim
1 Feb 2018
The country is split over the Government’s plans to make New Zealand carbon neutral – despite most New Zealanders now realising it is the world’s biggest problem.
LETTERS: Food in plastic
24 Jan 2018
In recent months, our local supermarket has been purchasing silver beet wrapped in plastic.
Revealed: the cost of climate change
15 Dec 2017
Lack of government leadership means New Zealand business, society, infrastructure and the land itself are exposed to billions of dollars worth of potential damage from the impacts of climate change, the Government has been told.
This time, climate officials hope for a bit more action
13 Dec 2017
In late 2015, officials gave new climate minister Paula Bennett as list of five things they thought should be done over the next two years.
SHAW THING: Business needs to get into gear
4 Dec 2017
New climate minister James Shaw has a clear message for business: get your house in order because New Zealand is decarbonising ... fast.
Dairying sees green as the new colour of business
22 Nov 2017
Climate change and other environmental risks now rank higher than economic issues in the minds of business and political leaders, according to a new report by New Zealand’s dairy industry.
Shaw commits NZ to leading on climate challenge
17 Nov 2017
New Zealand has just committed itself on the world stage to being carbon-neutral by 2050 and being a Pacific leader on climate change.
UN climate summit means business
6 Nov 2017
This year’s annual UN climate summit, the twenty-third Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (https://cop23.unfccc.int/) in UN jargon (or COP23 for short), starts on 6 November – and for once it may have an unusual spring in its step.
Dockless bikes and the tragedy of the commons
6 Nov 2017
WASHING DC has become the latest testing ground for what happens when technology and good intentions meet the real world.
How Bennett toyed with cross-party climate move
1 Nov 2017
Former climate minister Paula Bennett sought advice on forming a cross-party agreement on climate change.
Shaw vows better climate deal for Pacific
1 Nov 2017
The new government says it will pull climate policy into line with Pacific aspirations.
Get ETS working, say superfund guardians
30 Oct 2017
New Zealand cannot afford an Emissions Trading Scheme that doesn’t work, say the guardians of the $36.4 billion New Zealand Superannuation Fund - and that means bringing the agricultural sector into the scheme.
New leaders have serious climate job to do
19 Oct 2017
Whichever political party forms a government this afternoon has a critical job preparing New Zealand for the impacts of climate change and in getting the country’s emissions under control.
NZ fires first COP23 shots in Fiji today
17 Oct 2017
Acting climate minister Paula Bennett will deliver New Zealand’s opening statement at the pre-COP climate talks in Fiji today.
Foreign credits bad call, warns ex-climate envoy
16 Oct 2017
Spending up to $20 billion on buying foreign carbon credits will be a “severe imposition” on the economy and will delay New Zealand’s decarbonisation, warns our former climate ambassador.
MEMO MPs: The country needs a climate commission
12 Oct 2017
Politicians negotiating to form a new government have again been told that action on climate change is a priority for business and society.
Why National should lead on climate commission
11 Oct 2017
The National Party should support a climate commission, says a former Conservative British Cabinet minister.
Westpac backs climate commission and budget
11 Oct 2017
Westpac supports New Zealand adopting a United Kingdom-style climate commission and budget setting.
Why we need a carbon price of $100 ... or more
5 Oct 2017
Carbon prices of $100 a tonne - and possibly as high as $225 – are being foreshadowed in a new report.
WATCHDOG WARNS: Act now or face 'great risk'
5 Oct 2017
New Zealand will be stuck with high-emitting technologies if it doesn’t move to cut emissions soon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is warning.
It's about more than politics
29 Sep 2017
The next three years are more than an electoral cycle; they make up the period that could determine – quite literally – what sort of world we live in. And that’s what should be on the minds of politicians jockeying to form the next government.
Furious farmers should get with the programme
22 Sep 2017
Political protests this week over fart taxes and water charges are at odds with research showing the agricultural sector knows it has to pay for its pollution.
Nat turns up to debate and makes lone stand
20 Sep 2017
All political parties except National told an audience in Auckland last night that they rank climate change as the biggest issue they face.
TAX OR TRADE?: It doesn't make much difference
19 Sep 2017
Ditching the Emissions Trading Scheme in favour of a carbon tax will not solve New Zealand’s emissions woes, a new report says.
With political will, the world can get to 1.5deg
19 Sep 2017
Global warming can be held to 1.5deg if there is the political will, new research published today shows.
THE COUNT: English stays silent on climate
18 Sep 2017
With less than one week left in the election campaign, Prime Minister Bill English has yet to mention climate change in any of his formal speeches or statements.
Climate-change baddies doing business in NZ
14 Sep 2017
Companies operating in New Zealand have been named as some of the most obstructive to global action on climate change.
We could do environmental rights, says Little
13 Sep 2017
Environmental rights could be enshrined in the Bill of Rights, if not in a constitution, under a Labour government.
PALMER PRESCRIPTION: Climate needs constitution
12 Sep 2017
If Sir Geoffrey Palmer had had his way, New Zealand would have already cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent.
Coalition candidates want to rid us of ETS
11 Sep 2017
Two of the parties that could be involved in any centre-left coalition after the election want to scrap the Emissions Trading Scheme.
THE COUNT: English stays silent
11 Sep 2017
Week 12 of The Count ... and Prime Minister Bill English is still in the starting blocks.
High land prices key blocker to forest planting
7 Sep 2017
New Zealand won’t get more carbon-sequestering forests until land prices fall.
Leaked report lifts lid on coastal property risks
4 Sep 2017
A climate change report the Government didn’t want public yet has been released by the Green Party.
THE COUNT: Peters outpaces Ardern
4 Sep 2017
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has pulled ahead of Labour leader Jacinda Ardern in The Count, but the Greens’ James Shaw is looking unassailable.
CLIMATE REPORT: What is the Government hiding?
30 Aug 2017
The Government’s refusal to release a report on the impacts of climate change suggests it might contain something politically damaging, says constitutional law expert and former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer.
Media round-up
Fri 14 Nov 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Simon Watts acknowledges he may face ‘challenging’ conversations with Pacific nations at COP30, New Zealand's climbdown on its methane emissions target is "embarrassing", and corporates are the real winners of the gutting of the Zero Carbon Act this week.
Kaicycle celebrates ten years of collective climate action in Pōneke
Fri 14 Nov 2025
Media release: Kaicycle | Since 2015, Kaicycle has grown from a humble pilot project growing kai and collecting compost on bicycles into the thriving urban farm and composting hub that Wellingtonians know and love.
NZ’s government wants tourism to drive economic growth – but how will it deal with aviation emissions?
22 Oct 2025
By Robert McLachlan, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University | Following a brief dip during the COVID pandemic, aviation is back in a growth phase.
Air NZ inks deal for its first internationally verified carbon credits
9 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Air New Zealand has committed to buying 8000 tonnes of carbon removals by 2030, in partnership with local native forest investment platform My Native Forest.
NZ’s shameful new role as ‘international climate pariah’
Thu 13 Nov 2025
OPINION: New Zealand has ratcheted up its climate backsliding in the past month – losing any shred of climate credibility we once had and showing the world we’re giving up on a net zero future, writes Kayla Kingdon-Bebb.
Govt launches strategy backing wood-based heat sector
23 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Forestry biomass could replace as much as 40% of fossil fuel-generated process heat by 2050, but access to supply, regulatory settings and business cases for converting to wood-based heat sources are required, the Government says in a series of documents released yesterday.
ETS price spike fears drove NDC decoupling
Thu 13 Nov 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Fears about the economic and fiscal costs of failure to buy enough offshore carbon credits to meet New Zealand’s Nationally Determined Contribution drove last week’s key climate change policy decision.
Australia's green energy push, Pacific ties face setback from COP31 impasse
Fri 14 Nov 2025
Australia risks undermining efforts to establish itself as a leader in the green energy transition and letting down its vulnerable Pacific island neighbours if its bid to host next year's biggest climate summit fails, diplomats and analysts say.
Carbon price’s dead cat bounce
Wed 12 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | The carbon price rebounded briefly in what looked like a ‘dead cat bounce’ last week, following the Government’s announcement it was unlinking the Emissions Trading Scheme from international climate targets.
Act-NZ First split over future of the energy sector
Fri 14 Nov 2025
Act leader David Seymour has set out an energy policy platform that diverges sharply from coalition partner NZ First, arguing New Zealand must accept coal-fired backup generation, consider nuclear power, remove political interference from the electricity sector and sell down the government’s majority stakes in the gentailers.
'Little to be hopeful about' – NZ scientists caution ahead of COP30
31 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Record heat, worsening climate impacts and global backsliding on emission reduction commitments have left some New Zealand climate experts with little optimism as COP30 approaches.
$235 billion worth of NZ buildings exposed to flooding
30 Oct 2025
More than 750,000 New Zealanders live in locations exposed to one-in-100-year floods, according to a nationwide study which shows escalating flood risk.
COP30: Brazil tries to find a home for tricky issues
Fri 14 Nov 2025
Brazil is trying to craft a compromise package on several contentious issues and has dismissed the idea of a roadmap away from fossil fuels.
NZ backs international government push for high-integrity carbon markets
Thu 13 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand has joined a coalition of governments aiming to strengthen corporate demand for voluntary carbon credits.
Clean energy could become a huge political winner
Wed 12 Nov 2025
Rising power bills quietly shaped this year’s races – and gave Democrats a new attack line on climate.
DOC trims costs and winds down jobs for nature
10 Nov 2025
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is entering a new phase of tighter budgets and structural change as it winds down the pandemic-era Jobs for Nature programme and reshapes its operations to absorb long-term cost pressures.
Coastal roads in the climate spotlight
Fri 14 Nov 2025
By Sue Teodoro, Local Democracy Reporter | Vulnerable coastal roads across New Zealand, including in Masterton district, are coming under the spotlight as the Government works on a plan to address the cost of climate-related damage.
NZ marine heatwaves could double in intensity under high-emissions pathway
16 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show marine heatwaves will grow more intense around the North Island and more frequent around the South Island as the climate warms – raising risks for fisheries, aquaculture, coastal ecosystems and tourism.
Does NZ's 2035 NDC meet Paris Agreement obligations?
7 Nov 2025
By Christina Hood | COMMENT: New Zealand’s 2035 Paris Agreement Target needs strengthening, with multiple reasons the 51 to 55% emissions reduction target does not meet our obligations under the accord.
Govt gas expansion 'climate vandalism' – Greens
7 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Green Party has labelled the Government’s move to broaden the scope of its $200 million fossil gas investment fund as vandalism, accusing Prime Minister Christopher Luxon of breaking trust with New Zealanders.
RMA to speed up fossil fuel consents
18 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | An energy lobby group has welcomed a last-minute amendment to the RMA that puts fossil fuels on the same footing as renewables, however a sustainable energy expert says the move “beggars belief.”
Oxfam urges NZ to renew climate funding as Pacific projects face closure
Wed 12 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Oxfam Aotearoa is calling on the Government to urgently renew New Zealand’s climate finance commitments, warning that vital projects supporting Pacific communities’ resilience are running out of funding.
Building resilient cities in a time of climate change
Thu 13 Nov 2025
Media release: Otago University | Local and international experts are meeting in Wellington this month to share their knowledge on creating healthier, more resilient cities in the face of the challenges posed by climate change.
TotalEnergies loses in Paris court, marking a turning point for fossil fuel truth-in-advertising
5 Nov 2025
TotalEnergies was found to have misled consumers about its role in the energy transition.
Lake Onslow battery project set for revival?
29 Oct 2025
A newly formed private consortium has emerged with plans to finance and build the massive Lake Onslow pumped-hydro project, despite the coalition government’s decision to abandon the scheme.
Hiringa eyes green methanol plant near Whanganui
29 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Green hydrogen pioneer Hiringa Energy is deep in planning to develop an “eight-to-nine figure” methanol plant near Whanganui, using a combination of biomass and hydrogen produced using renewable energy.
Media round-up
31 Oct 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: A controversial seabed mining project could lead to sediment flows knocking over rigs and damaging wind turbines; weather-related insurance claims climb; and is the government playing Russian Roulette with our future over methane targets?
Why I’m not outraged at the Govt’s latest climate backsliding
7 Nov 2025
COMMENT: The Government’s latest climate rollbacks underline New Zealand’s long history of a lack of genuine desire to cut emissions, writes Geoff Bertram.
Z Energy settles greenwashing case over ‘quitting petrol’ claims
4 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Z Energy has settled a landmark greenwashing case over claims it misled the public about moving away from petrol – a result Lawyers for Climate Action NZ says delivers long-overdue accountability.
Nelson commuters urged to ditch car once a week
22 Oct 2025
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Nelson has a bold carbon emission reduction target and residents are being encouraged to leave the car at home one day a week to help meet it.
Supermarket fast-track a ‘cynical ploy’, risks climate and environmental protections
5 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s “express lane for supermarkets” announcement has been met with fierce backlash, with critics calling the Fast-track Approvals Amendment Bill a Trojan horse that strips environmental protections, sidelines communities, and hands sweeping powers to ministers at the expense of democracy.
NZ's latest climate target 'weak' – Climate Action Tracker
24 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's new international climate target to 2035 is weak, and could even allow for higher emissions than the 2030 target, according to a global scientific project that tracks government climate action.
Climate impacts hit NZ with increasing wild weather
23 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand is facing a triple whammy of climate impacts today, with severe winds and rainfall predicted for much of the country while some areas are still dealing with wildfires ignited earlier in the week.
Carbon Finance Program upscales efforts to close climate investment gap in climate vulnerable nations
22 Oct 2025
Media release | The Climate Vulnerable Forum and its V20 Finance Ministers (CVF-V20) will work with the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) to upscale the Carbon Finance Program in reach and impact, supporting more climate-vulnerable countries to host high-integrity carbon projects that yield tangible climate, nature, and sustainable development benefits.
Lobby group launches ‘blueprint’ for ocean management reform
18 Sep 2025
The Environmental Defence Society yesterday released its plan to tackle widespread ecological decline in our oceans.
Protesters and UN security clash at climate summit in Brazil
Thu 13 Nov 2025
Activist groups and United Nations security clashed in chaotic scenes late Tuesday after protesters appeared to force their way into the COP30 climate conference venue, in the most serious act of unrest seen in years inside one of the annual gatherings.
Straterra has a new name: the New Zealand Minerals Council
16 Apr 2025
Media release | Straterra has been renamed as New Zealand Minerals Council, says chief executive Josie Vidal.
Scotland's first wind farm 'supercharged' after upgrade
Tue 11 Nov 2025
Scotland's first commercial wind farm will be able to deliver five times more clean power than before after being upgraded.
New national dataset to unlock blue carbon potential in NZ’s coastal wetlands
Wed 12 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Ministry for the Environment and the Nature Conservancy have collaborated on a dataset to inform a framework to potentially include coastal wetlands into compliance and voluntary carbon credit schemes.
Solar households to get little-noticed tax break
23 Sep 2025
A provision in the government’s latest tax bill would exempt households from paying tax on income they earn by selling excess electricity back to the grid.
AgriZero backs first nitrous oxide solution with $1.2m investment
6 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A Kiwi ag-tech start-up developing a device for cows to wear to drastically cut nitrous oxide emissions has secured $1.2 million in government-industry funding.
Last minute change to oil and gas legislation over cleanup costs
31 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government is expected to repeal the oil and gas ban today, with a last-minute amendment handing discretionary power to two ministers over the controversial issue of decommissioning.
EV and hybrid sales soar in Australia as internal combustion cars fall below 70% market share for first time
Thu 13 Nov 2025
Data from peak motoring body shows battery-electric vehicles accounted for 9.7% of new cars sold in September quarter, the highest proportion on record.
EU’s new climate target lines up multibillion dollar boost for carbon markets
10 Nov 2025
Analysts estimate the EU will buy at least 50 billion euros worth of carbon credits in the 2030s to help meet its emissions-cutting goals.
Fix it, don't ditch it: University of Auckland hosts first Repair Cafe
9 Oct 2025
Media release - Auckland University | The University's first-ever Repair Cafe is bringing students and staff together to give broken items a new lease on life, while promoting a culture of repair and reuse.
Council buys dairy farm to help clean up Lake Rotorua
21 Oct 2025
Bay of Plenty Regional Council has bought a 266-hectare dairy farm in the Lake Rotorua catchment and plans to retire it from production to reduce nitrogen entering the lake.
Adaptation plan at odds with public sentiment: survey
21 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s position on climate adaptation buyouts shows a disconnect with public opinion, according to survey findings from insurer Suncorp NZ.
We have more renewable energy than ever before. Why are we switching it off?
Tue 11 Nov 2025
Experts say until more storage is installed to soak up the waves of renewable energy flooding the grid, much of that power will occasionally have to be curtailed.
